Paper-fastener.



l. RITTENHOUSE.

' PAPER FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 28, 1913.

1,149,086. Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

ff`j0 ZJ '1574 IZ To all 'Lo/1.0m t may concern.'

.isl a specification.

ED OFFICE i IRvIN RITTENHOUSE; `0F WASHINGTOMPI'STRIGT OF eoLUMBlA. ASSIGNOR T0 HQRACE' estesa, or WASHINGTON. alarmes 0F COLUMBIA.

rarER-rfisrnivnn.

pkspeclcat'ion ofLetters Patent. Patented Aug. 3,1915.

moriginen application inea Maron io, 1910, siiaifiro. 545,339. ,f Divided ananas ,application filed Aprii as,

- i .1. f 1.913, Seria1.No.764,16`9 f Be it knownthat'l, IRviNi RITTENHoUsE, a citizen of the United Stateswresiding at TWashington, in ythe District of Columbia, have invented new and useful lmprovements in Paper-Fasteners, of which the following This invention relates to improvementsin paper fasteners, and more particularly to a type of paper fastener' that may be properly designated a flat file fastener, and is a divisional application of my pending application, Serial Number 548,339.

The object of this invention is to provide a fastener which will securely bind together a stack of papers for the purpose of filing, a fastener of such a character to be particularly adapted for use in vertical filing systems wherein economy of space is an important item.

The invention disclosed herein resides in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described in a preferred form, reference now being made to the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the base member showing a fastening. pin inserted therethrough; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; and Fig. iis a view partly in section, showing the complete fastener binding a stack of papers.

As shown in the drawings, 1, represents the base member which is formed o-f an elongated strip of sheet metal having a main body portion 2, and end portions 3 and 4,

struck-up from the main body portion, and lying in the plane parallel with,and slightly above the said main body portion.

5, is a central struck-up portion lying in the same plane as the struck-up end portions.

The angular portion between the several struck-up portions and the main body of the base member are provided with a plurality of openings 6, 7, 8, and 9, which openings are in longitudinal alinement to permit the insertion of the flexible fastening strip 10. The fastening strip 10 is of alength considerably greater than the'base member, to provide, upon its insertion into the same, portions 11 and 12, extending away from the opposite edges of the base member, the

As shown, the base inemberis designed to v.engage the lowermost sheet of the papers desredtabe :Secured by the fastener- .0.11 the uppermost sheet, is provided a protectf ing,` bindingmember 13, of Aa length some- ;what greater than the length of the base member and having apertures 14 and 15 spaced apart a distance corresponding to the length of the said base member. To increase the transverse tensile strength of the protecting plate, and also to provide offsets at the points 14 and l5, whereby the extensions of the fastening pin may be readily `inserted into the apertures, the portion between the said apertures is struck-up to lie in a plane slightly above the plane of the protecting plate. The advantages of this form of construction having been fully set forth in my co-pending application, Serial Number 758,283.

The operation of the device'is as follows: The flexible fastening strip 10 is i'nserted into the base member 1, by passing it through the series of openings 6, 7 8, and 9, until the extensions 11 and 12 are of dis-1 tances substantially equal from the opposite edges of the base member. These eXtensions are then bent upwardly over the said edges, until they are in vertical position to form piercing prongs for the securement of the papers, which are pierced one by one, by the prongs as the le is built. If desired, the papers may be punched in any suitable manner, previo-us to their insertion on the fastener, in which case, a large number of papers may be passed over the prongs in one operation. When the desired number have been placed in their position on the fastener, the protecting plate is slipped on the uppermost sheet and the ends of the prongs, into the apertures 14 and 15 thereon, and the ends of the said prongs are then bent downwardly and outwardly, until they come into intimate contact with the papers.

The advantagel of constructing the base member in the form illustrated in this application is that, in addition to the struck up end portions, a central portion is brought into direct contact with the surface of the papers, whereby a binding action of the fastener is obtained at three points, instead of only two, as has been heretofore shown in my Patent No. 920,893. This obviates the springing outward of the base member at the center from thesurface of the bottommost sheet, While the free ends of the fastening strip are being bent back and forth during the operation of securing additional sheets of papers into the file or removing y sheets therefrom. yIn addition, the papers are more securely bound` by the fastener than could be otherwise obtainedythus ef l fecting a very flat file, a result most desirable to those Who appreciate the value lof economy of space in vertical filing systems.

What is vclaimed is: A paper fastener comprising a base mem ber having struckeup end portions rand a nesses.

' neotingthe struck up portions, the angular oonnectlng portions having perforations, and a pliable fastening strip inserted through the perforations under the struckup portions and over the base portion adapted to be bent up over the struck-up end portions. v f

f In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two'fsubsoribing Wit- IRVIN RITTENHOUSE. Witnesses:

` EDWARD S.v WHITE,

JAMES L. CRAWFORD.

Copies o1' this patent` may be obtained for "iive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patent.

' Washington, D. C. 

